Jordan Poole’s tumultuous tenure with the Golden State Warriors has come to an end. The Warriors traded the sharpshooting guard to the Washington Wizards in a deal that landed them Chris Paul. Poole’s position with the franchise had become untenable due to poor relationships with the Warriors All-Star core.
During a June 30 episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer’s Logan Murdoch revealed that even the laid-back Klay Thompson had grown frustrated with Poole throughout the season.
“All the established guys had some version of a problem with Jordan Poole, whether it was Klay [Thompson] ironically saying that Jordan doesn’t pass the ball enough and shoots too much,” Murdoch said. “And then you have Draymond [Green], who sees Jordan as this guy is like, yeah, I did punch him. I did do all these things, but now I don’t have a voice within the locker room because of what happened.”
Despite Poole’s locker room issues, he was still able to play in all 82 games for the Warriors last season. During those games, Poole averaged 20.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 43% shooting from the field and 33.6% shooting from deep.
Poole had been with the Warriors since being selected with the 28th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Since then, the Wisconsin native has developed into one of the best young offensive-minded guards in the NBA and will likely be given a starring role on the rebuilding Wizards in the upcoming season.
However, the Warriors will likely be pleased with their decision to trade Poole, as now, Chris Paul will be their primary guard off the bench. Warriors fans will be hoping that the addition of Paul will help their team return to the NBA Finals next season.
The Warriors failed to defend their 2022 NBA championship this past season, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals second round. Now, Golden State will be hoping they can challenge for another championship banner in the upcoming season, after securing the future of Draymond Green to keep their core together.
